Temperature regulation for autonomous vehicle delivery

Abstract

Systems and methods are provided for temperature regulation in an autonomous vehicle. In particular, systems and methods are provided for regulating the interior temperature of a delivery container in an autonomous vehicle. In various implementations, the delivery container includes one or more compartments, and a thermal management system is provided for regulating the temperature of each of the compartments.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method for regulating temperature for autonomous vehicle delivery, comprising:
 receiving a delivery request including a selected temperature; 
 selecting an autonomous vehicle to fulfill the delivery request, wherein the autonomous vehicle has a delivery container; 
 measuring a delivery container temperature at a thermal management system; 
 determining, at the thermal management system, external temperatures external to the delivery container, including:
 determining a surrounding environment air temperature, wherein a surrounding environment is an area adjacent to an exterior of the delivery container inside the autonomous vehicle, and 
 determining an outside air temperature, wherein outside air is exterior to the autonomous vehicle; and 
 
 determining, at the thermal management system, that at least one of air from the surrounding environment and outside air can be used to adjust the delivery container temperature closer to the selected temperature; 
 adjusting, by the thermal management system, the delivery container temperature to correspond to the selected temperature, wherein adjusting the delivery container temperature includes:
 inputting to the delivery container, via an input line, at least one of air from the surrounding environment and outside air. 
 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the input line is to connect the delivery container with at least one of: air from the surrounding environment and outside air. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the selected temperature includes a temperature range. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1 , wherein adjusting the delivery container temperature includes receiving an input from an HVAC system. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising determining whether the delivery container temperature corresponds to the selected temperature and outputting a determination. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 5 , wherein adjusting a delivery container temperature is based at least in part on the determination. 
     
     
       7. The method of  claim 1 , wherein adjusting, by the thermal management system, further comprises utilizing heat generated by an onboard computer. 
     
     
       8. The method of  claim 1 , wherein adjusting, by the thermal management system, further comprises utilizing heat generated by a vehicle battery. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1 , wherein adjusting, by the thermal management system, further comprises sending instructions that cause one of air from the surrounding environment and outside air to enter the delivery container via the input line. 
     
     
       10. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the delivery container includes a first compartment and a second compartment, and wherein adjusting the delivery container temperature further comprises:
 adjusting a first temperature of the first compartment, and 
 adjusting a second temperature of the second compartment. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10 , wherein the first temperature is different from the second temperature. 
     
     
       12. A system for autonomous vehicle delivery, comprising:
 a plurality of autonomous vehicles each having a respective delivery container, each delivery container having an input line configured to connect the delivery container with at least one of air from the surrounding environment and outside air; and 
 a remote computing system configured to:
 receive a package delivery request including a selected temperature, and 
 select an autonomous vehicle from the plurality of autonomous vehicles to fulfill the package delivery request, 
 
 wherein each of the plurality of autonomous vehicles is configured to:
 measure a delivery container temperature of the respective delivery container; 
 determine external temperatures external to the respective delivery container, including:
 determine a surrounding environment air temperature, wherein a surrounding environment is an area adjacent to an exterior of the respective delivery container inside the respective autonomous vehicle, 
 determine an outside air temperature, wherein outside air is exterior to the respective autonomous vehicle; and 
 
 determine that at least one of air from the surrounding environment and outside air can be used to adjust the delivery container temperature closer to the selected temperature; 
 adjust a delivery container temperature of the respective delivery container to correspond to the selected temperature, wherein adjusting the delivery container temperature includes:
 inputting to the delivery container, via the input line at least one of air from the surrounding environment and outside air. 
 
 
 
     
     
       13. The system of  claim 12 , wherein the respective delivery container includes a first compartment and a second compartment, and wherein each of the plurality of autonomous vehicles is configured to adjust the delivery container temperature of the respective delivery container by adjusting a first temperature of the first compartment and adjusting a second temperature of the second compartment. 
     
     
       14. The system of  claim 12 , wherein each of the plurality of autonomous vehicles includes a thermal management system, and wherein the thermal management system adjusts the delivery container temperature. 
     
     
       15. The system of  claim 14 , wherein the thermal management system uses heat generated by an onboard computer to adjust the delivery container temperature. 
     
     
       16. The system of  claim 14 , wherein the thermal management system uses heat generated by a vehicle battery to adjust the delivery container temperature. 
     
     
       17. A vehicle for delivering packages, comprising:
 a delivery container including an input line configured to connect the delivery container with at least one of air from the surrounding environment and outside air, wherein an inside of the delivery container is temperature regulated; 
 a processor for receiving a routing instruction including a selected temperature for the delivery container and monitoring a delivery container temperature; and 
 a thermal management system for adjusting the delivery container temperature, wherein the thermal management system is configured to:
 determine a surrounding environment air temperature, wherein a surrounding environment is an area adjacent to an exterior of the delivery container inside the autonomous vehicle, 
 determine an outside air temperature, wherein outside air is exterior to the autonomous vehicle, 
 determine that at least one of air from the surrounding environment and outside air can be used to adjust the delivery container temperature closer to the selected temperature; 
 adjust the delivery container temperature to correspond to the selected temperature by inputting, via the input line, at least one of air from the surrounding environment and outside air. 
 
 
     
     
       18. The vehicle of  claim 17 , wherein the thermal management system is further configured to determine whether the delivery container temperature corresponds to the selected temperature and output a determination. 
     
     
       19. The vehicle of  claim 17 , wherein the thermal management system uses heat generated by an onboard computer to adjust the delivery container temperature. 
     
     
       20. The vehicle of  claim 17 , wherein the thermal management system uses heat generated by a vehicle battery to adjust the delivery container temperature.